I’ve noticed that most (many) workbenches that are built on many forums/blogs are made of hardwood. I worked for years on a softwood bench which seems to me to be better on the pieces being worked on because if the bench or the piece is going to dent, it’s better the bench does, not the piece. What do others think? I’m considering building a bench out of Douglas Fir. Thots?

I like the softwoods for the reason you mentioned. I’ve got a top glued up from Home Depot 2×4’s waiting for flattening right now for my current build. Plus the cost is much less than the hardwood route. If the top ever gets so beat up that it’s unusable, I can make another for $125 vs. almost $700 for a hardwood version.

Mine is <span style=”color: #000000; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, ‘lucida grande’, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal; background-color: #f5f5ff;”>Doug fir 2x4s and I like it for general work. If I ever had the space for a second bench I would probably spend the money for a hardwood is it will last longer, weigh more and look better.</span>

Totally going with Douglas Fir. I got lucky and bought property with 100ft firs all over the place. Been waiting three years for the trees I dropped and got milled to season up. Hoping this is the winter my new bench gets built.